Prior art connectors having a matable receptacle housing and plug housing and containing matable electrical contacts respectively are widely used in practice. These connectors include latching members which firmly maintain both housings in engagement and also allow the housings to be released. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a description of an existing connector provided with such a latching arrangement is as follows.
The receptacle housing 110 and plug housing 120 respectively each retain, for example, electrical contacts (not shown) and the housings are constructed to mate with each other by plug housing 120 being matable with housing 110. The upper surface of plug housing 120 includes an integral latching arm 123 fixed thereto at a front end portion 123a, in the direction of mating with housing 110. Latching arm 123 includes an engaging projection 121 at a center portion thereof and a pressure projection 122 at a rear end thereof. An inside wall of housing 110 has a projection 111 which engages with engaging projection 121 when plug housing 120 is in the mated position. When both housings are being mated, latching arm 123 is bent as plug housing 110 is inserted into housing 120, and therefore, engaging projection 121 of latching arm 123 and projection 111 are engaged and maintain both housings in the mated condition as illustrated in FIG. 5. When both housings are to be unmated, the housings are unlatched from each other by pressing on pressure projection 122 to bend latching arm 123 to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5, thus releasing the engagement of engaging projection 121 of latching arm 123 from projection 111 of housing 110 whereby the housings can be separated.
However, in the connector having the aforesaid structure, the height of the plug housing is made larger creating a problem in that the entire connector has increased height. Moreover, as explained above, when releasing the mating of both housings, the disengagement of engaging projection 121 from projection 111 takes place by pressing pressure projection 122, and as pressure projection 122 is situated farther than engaging projection 121 from the forward end of the latching arm, which is the fulcrum, pressure projection 122 must be moved by as much as the distance S to bring it to a position even lower than engaging projection 121 in order to shift the engaging projection downward to the position where the engagement with projection 111 is released. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a space in the plug housing between the pressure projection and the upper surface wall of the housing higher than the distance S to allow for the downward movement of the pressure projection, and therefore a disadvantage occurs in that the housing, and thus the entire connector, must be made to have a greater height.